Closing device for vessels.



PATBNTBD FEB. 12, 1907.

W. B. PENN. CLOSING DEVICE POR VESSELS.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 31, 1906.

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AW'ILLIAM BI FEN, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

CLOSING DEVICE FOR'VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 12, 19,07.

Application led March 3l,l 1906. Serial No. 309.030.

/To a/ZZ whom, 711i may concern/.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. FENN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oolumbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closing Devices for Vessels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the c invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The special object ot this invention is to provide means whereby jars, cans, or other receptacles to contain. fruit, vegetables, meats, or other edibles may bekept air-tight, and thus preserved from decay, although the' invention can be used for other purposes where air-tightness in a receptacle 1s necessary or advantageous.

The invention consists in the construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown the invention as used in connection with a glass jar of tumbler form.

In said drawings, Figure l is a central vertical sectional view of the jar and cover applied thereto, but showing the sealing device or material before it is pressed into sealing position or form. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the sealing material in sealing position or form. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the sealing-ring with a quadrant cut out. Fig. 4

is atop plan view of the sealing-ring. Fig. 5 shows in edge and sectional view a modified form of cap. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a ring, but of smaller diameter, showing it made of coil.

In the views, 1 designates the jar. This j ar is expanded around the top, so as to provide near its upper edge an annular shoulder l, that faces downward. An extremely small shoulder will suffice. Preferably the rim of the ja'r from the shoulder upward is made with a slight inward taper.

2 designates a cap or cover, preferably of metal, the annular flange or rim of which has a iiare of about the same degree as the taper of the rim of the jar.

3 designates the ring. This ring is preferably formed of a material or materials adapted to be softened when warmed by a little artificial heat, as of a gas-flame. For instance, a ring composed of asbestos fiber and that shown.

paraffin or 0f wax or of any material adapted to be compressed or molded by pneumatic pressure can be used; but I do not, of course, confine myself to the use of any particular material or compound so long as it is capable of cooperating in the invention substantially as hereinafter described. This ring also has a are or taper (according` to the point of view) and is preferably originally plain and of a form and size adapted to fit within the rim of the cover 2, so that it and the cover can be fitted neatly and closely down on the rim of the jar. In sealing jars `of the kind herein-described I propose to place them,with the coverloosely set thereon, in a closed chamber, from which the air is afterward exhausted, thus' also exhausting the air from the jar. While in said exhaust- .ing-chamber pressure will be applied to the cover to closely seat it, and afterward, upon admitting air the pressure will press the material of the ring upward under the shoulder la, somewhat as indicated in Fig. 2, and

at the same time tend to condense it in the space between the tapering surface and the cover. The pressure applied to the cover while in the air-exhausting chamber will also press a portion of the sealing-ring inward over the upper edge of the jar, thus augmenting the sealing effect. The sealing material is thus pressed around two corners and over the tapering surface. So long as the air is exhausted from the jar the pressure of the atmospheric air upon the ring is continuous.

and the cover and sealing held with great firmness in place, even where the inner side of the rim of the cover is smooth. In Fig. 5, however, I have shown a cap or cover having its rim made with a series of nodules or projections 2a and 2b, the former project-ing inward and the 'latter outward. The inward projections engage the sealing material, and the outward projections may or may not engage the material, according to the material and the mode of its application. The projections can be made of a form differing from The chief purpose of the outward projections is to permit a firm grip either of the hand or of an implement for the removal of the cover. This construction of cover is of general applic-ation, and its use is not confined -to the peculiar construction of jar herein shown.

ICO

The forni ofsealing-ring shown in Fig. 6 `is United States .v rial No. 311,904.

filed by nie April 16, 1906, Se-

W'hat I claim., and desire to secure by Letiters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a vessel having an external shoulder, of a flanged cover for said vessel, and a sealing-ring between the cover and vessel, said sealing-ring adapted to engage said shoulder and extend over the rini of the jar.

2. The combination with a vessel having its'upper end tapered inwardly and formed with a corner-at its u ter edo'e and with a shoulder below the tapered portion, of -a flanged cover flared to conform to the taper of the upper end of said vessel, and a sealingring between said upper end and the cover, the said ring being adapted to engage said shoulder and the said corner.

3. The combination with a vessel having its upper end tapered inwardly and formed with a corner at its upper edge and with a shoulder below the tapered portion, of a flanged cover, and a sealing-ring between the tapered end of the vessel and the cover, the said ring being adapted to engage said shoulder and the said corner.

4. The combination with a tapering upper end,

vessel having a jar and cover adapted to be pressed over the flange to receive a sealing-ring, said flange provided with internal and external projections.

In testimony whereof I afllx my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

TILLIAM B. FEN N. Witnesses:

ULYssEs R. PETERS,

BENJ. FINCKEL.

of aflanged cover for said vessel, andy a sealing-ring between the `7. A cover for a preserving vessel having a said flange 

